Yesterday all the farewells were said to the friends whose company we enjoyed and Bob and I settled down to wait until the last transfers to airport and up market hotel were made. Because Bob and I had made independent arrangements we were asked to wait until 9-15 when they would call a taxi and help us with our luggage. As it developed the "Big Boss" (owner of the boat) was casting an eye over Travel Marvel's operation and he told the staff to use one of the two cars he had in the car park. So we were transferred to our hotel in the latest model Suzuki sedan but not the BMW. We had the inhouse manager of the staff accompany us as interpretor because the driver did not speak English. Thus we arrived at our 2 star hotel on the edge of China Town in style. Our hotel is new and the room has all the requisite comforts though in minamilist format. The bathroom is about western standard toilet size so we tuck our knees in under the hand basin to sit. The shower, like our hotel in Manadalay in a hand held version without surrounds and the water drains straight across the floor to the drain. It works surprisingly well if you remember to put the lid down on the toilet seat so it is not wet when you next want to use it.
We were able to access our room straight away when we arrived so we sorted ourselves out then went for a walk. The Circuit Train had been recommended by our guides and all the travel sites so we walked through town to the colonial era train station. This is still very busy as it is the cheapest though slowest way to travel. The Circuit is through numerous small towns on the fringes of Yangon and several have major markets, though every town has it's own market. The distance is only 35 kms but it takes 3 hours because the old narrow gauge track has not been well maintained and it only averages 14 kms/ hour. We did enjoy some aspects of the trip but it was a very uncomfortable 3 hours. The seats were molded plastic that ran along the walls so we had numb backsides after 1 hour never mind 3. We were lucky to establish ourselves close to a doorway so got the breeze when the train was moving. The outside scene was limited by the number of passengers standing in the aisles and was only really interesting at the extremity of the circuit where the countryside was rural and the crowd had thinned. What was fascinating was observing the activities of our fellow passengers. Vacated seats were occupied with eal like alacrity. I only obtained a seat because I had refused an offer from a woman for her to stand in my place. She then stood before we reached her station so that there was no immediate competition for the space. Most people had been to the market and came on carrying bags of fresh veges but some were obviously loaded beyond personal consumption and were going to retail their purchases at their own village. The tiniest young woman was struggling to lift a large sack into the train and when I reached down to help her I nearly fell out myself. I had to regrip and heave and it turned out to be a load of melons which must have weighed as much as she did. I received a nod of approval from the old men across the aisle but they hadn't stirred themselves. The doorway was then occupied by an obviously inebriated but cheerful man who became helper for the women and we saw him being passed a ticket as his reward.
The most entertaining activity was watching the retailers who joined the train. Cold water, icypoles, a takeaway menu carried on a large tray on the sellers head. Bother, I missed that photo. Then there were laundry baskets of mandarines, bananas, grapes and some other small citrus. These were all advertised at top volume and there seemed to be some debate at times as to proprietry rights.
When we arived back we visited an up market supermarket to buy supplies and then taxied home. The 2 kms trip cost the equivalent of $2 Aussie. Last night we ate at a nearby restaurant and the total bill was less than the price of a pizza in Perth.
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